You were here, now you are lost, & why that's good

I'm lost. For four years, I have been blogging and speaking about the Heroic Arts and the Hero's Journey. I absolutely believe that there is a hero inside each and every one of us, and I believe in the power of the message.

I get chills every time I talk about being a hero. It's a cool feeling, and admittedly one I wish I could experience more frequently.

One of the pieces of advice I have held close to my heart is to find what you enjoy, and to find ways to do that as often as possible.

The question is: How?

“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.” -Joseph Campbell

Aren't all of us ready for more doors and fewer walls?

I have a book that describes the hero's journey and provides real-life stories of people who have experienced and thrived through their own heroic journeys, and I cannot bring myself to read the fourth and final part, "Victory," because I do not feel like I am there yet.

One of the questions I've been struggling with is: How do I know if I'm following my bliss? What if this is not the Ordeal, the Innermost Cave, or the Road of Trials, but rather a sign that I'm not on the right path?

Whether you are a college student who participated in a transformational leadership opportunity this year, a young professional who is contemplating a career change, or a quarter-lifer who is thinking about the big questions of meaning and purpose in your life, you probably have been there.

How do you know you are following your bliss, that you are on the right path?

The first clue is that-whatever it is-your bliss makes you come alive. It drives you. It energizes you. It makes your heart race.

“We’re not on our journey to save the world but to save ourselves. But in doing that you save the world. The influence of a vital person vitalizes.” -Joseph Campbell

The second clue is that following your bliss scares you. Your fears are the price of admission.

“You enter the forest at the darkest point, where there is no path. Where there is a way or path, it is someone else’s path. You are not on your own path. If you follow someone else’s way, you are not going to realize your potential.” -Joseph Campbell

The answer, really, the only response, is to act, even if it is the smallest step. Oftentimes, we feel the most stuck when we think we've tried everything. The truth is, there almost always is at least one more option, one more person to talk to, or one more route to try. It may be audacious, scary, or where there is no path, which is precisely why it will work.

For me, I have been afraid of admitting to anybody (let alone everybody who reads this blog) that I'm lost, and that I'm scared, so this blog in and of itself is one small step that I'm taking right now.

The second step is that I'm going to find a way to do this as much as possible, even if it means venturing where there is no path.

And if you are interested in bringing me in to do some work for you, drop me a note at chad(at)thepowerbutton.org and mention this post.